Sliding-door fastening.



"N o.l7|6,284. Patented Dec, I6, |902. W; E. RUSSELL 8;. E. R. MEAD.SLIDING DUUR FASTENING.

(Application tiled Apr. 29, 1902.)

(No Model.)

@Ew/ym Zig/flew! `UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. RSSELIJ AND EDWIN R. MEAD, OF FORT SCOTT, KANSAS.

SLlDlNG-DOOR FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,284, dated December16, 1902.

Application fled April 29, 1902 To MZ whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that we, WILLIAM R. RUSSELL and EDWIN R. MEAD, `citizens ofthe United States, residing at Fort Scott, in the county of Bourbon andState of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSliding-Door Fastenings, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to sliding-door fastenings, of that class wherebythe door can be reliably secured in its opened, closed, or at anyintermediate position; and our object is to produce a device of thischaracter which is of simple, strong, durable, and cheap constructionand which serves as an efficient lock when the door is closed.

To these ends theinvention consists in certain novel and peculiarfeatures of construcsys adjustment.

tion and combinations of parts, as hereinaf- ,ter described and claimed,and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had tothe accompanying drawings,in Which- Figure lis avertical section of acar to disclose the inner side of one of the sliding doors thereof andthe mechanism for securing the doorin the desired adjustment. Fig. 2 isan enlarged view of the inner side of the door and the supporting-tracktherefor and also shows, partly in section, the mechanism for securingthe door in the desired position of Fig. 3 is an enlarged verticalsection taken on the line III III of Fig; 1.- Fig. 4 is a verticalsection taken on the line IV IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detailedperspective View of the bolt of the fastening.

Before proceeding with the detailed description of thefinvention it isdesired to present the advantages which a door of this type possessesover the ordinary sliding door used on express-cars and the like; `Aswell known, as a train arrives at a station where mail or expresspackages are to be delivered the messenger or clerk stands in the opendoorway for the purpose of delivering this mail or express matter to theproper person at the station. In this position he is frequently injuredmore `or less seriously by the closing door, the latter beingimpelled tosuch action by the engineer suddenly applying thebrakes, and frequentlywhere the brakes are applied very gradually. The result in most cases isa damage suit against the company. As also Serial No. 105,150. (Nomodel.)

of some one eecting an entrance or of the door closing through anapplication of the brakes.

Our invention by providing a means for fastening the door reliably atany point, and yet in such a manner that it can be instantly closed, ifnecessary, by a person inside, obviates these difficulties.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 designates a car provided with theusual door-opening 2 and slide-door 3, the latter being preferablysuspended from hangers 4, slidingly engaging a metallic track-rail 4,said track-rail being preferably in the form of a stationary rackbarwith its teeth presented downwardly. The front hanger 4 is preferablyformed with a plate extension 5, bridging a recess 6y in the face andupper edge of the door, and said plate is provided with a vertical slot7 in its center and a shoulder S at its lower edge, the la'tterprojecting into the lower end of said recess and carrying a pair ofvertical guiderods 9, also occupying said recess and supporting a pairof expansive coil-springs 10.

11 designates a T-shaped bolt occupying said recess and held therein bysaid bridgingplate, the stem of said bolt depending between springs 10,while the arms of the T-shaped bolt are provided with vertical holes 12,into which fit loosely the upper ends of guiderods 9. Projectingupwardly from the outer edge of said bolt is one or more teeth 13 forengagement with said rack-bar, a plurality of teeth being preferred toone, because of greater strength, said teeth normally engaging notchesof the rack-bar to prevent accidental movement of the door.

Y 14 designates apin projecting from the .stem of the bolt through theslot 7 of bridge-plate 5, and pivotally connected at its upper end tosaid pin is a link 15, the lower end of said link projecting into ametallic keeper 16, secured to the door at a convenient point, and

IOC

journaled in said keeper is a short shaft 17, upon which is rigidlysecured a crank-arm 18, pivotally connected, as at 19, to the lower endof link 15. Said shaft also projects outwardly through thel keeper intoa keyhole 2O of the door, an escutcheon-plate 21 being secured to theouter side of the door and havingits keyhole registering with that ofthe latter in order that a suitable key (not shown) may be inserted fromthe outside and engaged with the shaft to enable the latter to be turnedand the bolt withdrawn from engagementwith the rack-bar preliminary tothe operation of the door in either direction.

For the purpose of operating the door from the inside a rigid arm 22 issecured to the keeper in any suitable manner, and a lever 23 is securedto the shaft, the lever extending at an angle to said arm, but bearingsuch relation to the latter that a mail-clerk or expressmessenger cangrasp them simultaneously with one hand and use the arm as a fulcrum fordrawing the lever toward it, and thus withdrawing the bolt fromengagement with the rack-bar. It will thus be seen that the bolt can bereadily withdrawn by a person inside the car or by a person outside thecar if provided with the proper key and not otherwise, and that aftersuch withdrawal the door can be opened tothe position shown in dottedlines, Fig. l, or to any other positon and then be resecuredautomatically by simply releasing the lever or the key. The result isthe clerk or messenger is enabled to occupy the open doorway withperfect safety to himself against injury by the closing door and againstunauthorized intrusion and that on arrivingat a station where a stop ofsufficient time is made he may leave the car with the door lockedagainst unauthorized entrance during his absence, whereas at the presenttime he must remain in the car, because there is no means for externallysecuring the doors now in use.

From the above description it will be apparent that we have produced afastening for sliding doors which possesses the features of advantageenumerated as desirable and which is obviously susceptible ofmodification in minor particulars without departing from the principleand scope of the invention,and while the door is shown with plainhangers it isobvious that antifriction-rollers as a means of eliminatingfriction may be employed, such use not involving invention in thepresent state of the art.

Having thus described the invention, what We claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

A sliding-door-fastening device, comprising a rack-bar-supporting rail,a sliding bolt suitably guided carried by the door to engage therack-bar, springs holding said bolt in such engagement, a keeper securedto the door, a shaft journaled in the keeper and provided with acrank-arm, a link pivotally connected to the bolt at one end and to thecrank-arm at its opposite end, a rigid arm secured to the keeper, and alever secured to the shaft and extending normally at au angle to saidarm.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM R. RUSSELL. EDWIN R. MEAD.

Witnesses:

HARRY C. ERNICH, FRANK E. BYRON.

